Cassario, Ferry Lead Six On All-PSUAC Softball Teams

MEDIA, Pa. -- A total of six Penn State Brandywine softball student-athletes were named to the All-Penn State University Athletic Conference Teams released Thursday, led by first team selections Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) and Meghan Ferry (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City). Earning second team all-conference accolades were freshmen Jess James (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) and Karly Rees (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), while Payton Landis (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) and Gianna Terpolilli (Hammonton, N.J./Our Lady of Mercy) were honorable mention honorees.

Cassario was the top two-way player in the conference, leading the PSUAC in wins, while ranking third in hitting. In the circle, Cassario pitched to a 15-5 record, while posting a 3.02 ERA in 23 appearances. She recorded 102 strikeouts, the third-highest total in the PSUAC, and topped all conference pitchers with 127.2 innings pitched. In 10 starts against PSUAC teams, Cassario allowed just 11 earned runs in 57.0 frames and fanned 47 hitters. She spun complete game shutouts in wins over Delaware Valley, Penn State Scranton and Penn State New Kensington.

Offensively, Cassario batted .431 with seven of her 44 hits going for extra bases, including two home runs. She also scored 23 runs and recorded 23 RBI. Cassario hit safely in 17-of-20 games against PSUAC teams, while tallying a trio of three-hit efforts and a 4-for-4 performance at Penn State Mont Alto in early April.

Ferry produced the sixth-highest hit total in the conference with 45 knocks and owns a .493 on-base percentage after working a PSUAC-high 21 walks. Eight of Ferry's 20 extra-base hits were home runs, ranking her second in the league in long balls. She tallied 12 multi-hit performances, while also recording a 12-game hitting streak from March 19-April 8.

Also second in runs scored with 44, Ferry drove in 30 runs in 38 starts. She stole 14 bases and was not thrown out attemping to steal. In center field, Ferry made just one error in 62 chances this spring.

James owns the PSUAC stolen base lead with 23 steals in 25 attempts. As Brandywine's leadoff hitter, James collected 40 hits, while tying for fifth in the conference with 35 runs scored. Of Brandywine's 30 victories, James scored runs in 24 of those games.

A .435 hitter in conference games, James logged eight multi-hit efforts in 16 PSUAC contests this spring. She set a season high with three hits in wins over Penn State New Kensington and Penn State Hazleton, while also scoring a career-best four runs against New Kensington.

Rees appeared in 38 games behind the plate, recording a .366 batting average with one home run and 24 RBI. She matched James for second on the team with 35 runs and was the Lions' third-leading RBI producer. Rees was one of the toughest players in the league to strikeout, as she fanned just six times in 124 plate appearances.

Brandywine was 17-2 when Rees recorded at least one hit and scored at least one run. She produced 11 two-hit games and a three-hit game at Swarthmore in March, while scoring two or more runs on 10 occasions. Rees also stole six bases in as many attempts.

Landis received her second-straight honorable mention award after pacing the PSUAC in RBI with 41, six more than her closest competitor. Thirty-one of those RBI came in 20 games against PSUAC foes.

In 38 games at first base, Landis tallied a team-high 47 hits, including 14 doubles, and batted .405. Four of her five three-hit games came against Penn State DuBois with the additional three-hit effort coming at Penn State Fayette. Landis hit safely in 13-straight games from March 22-April 15, tied for seventh-longest in team history, and brings a 10-game hitting streak into this weekend's PSUAC Championship series.

Terpolilli made 33 starts in the corner outfield spots during her rookie season, batting .358 with 29 total hits. She also ranked third on the team with eight stolen bases, fourth in runs scored (24) and fifth in RBI (21). Terpolilli also reached base at a .480 clip after walking 18 times.

Three times, Terpolilli recorded three hits in a game, while she crossed home with two runs scored in eight contests. Terpolilli also drove in two runs six times and set a career high with three RBI in Brandywine's PSUAC Tournament victory over Penn State DuBois last Saturday.

Brandywine (30-11) faces Penn State Hazleton beginning Sunday in the PSUAC Championship Series at Heindl Field in DuBois (4:00 PM).